Black Friday, We're Not Buying It Anymore. A quantitative study about the effects on brand equity from participating or not participating in Black Friday, with CSR engagements acting as a moderator.

Abstract: Black Friday is the global promotion event that year by year outperforms itself in sales. However, there has been a recent increase in criticism and counter-movements against Black Friday, both from consumers and retailers. Further, research to guide retailers' decisions regarding Black Friday seems to be lacking, and scholars indicate a need for research in how factors such as price and promotion generate brand equity and affect customer decisions. The purpose of this report is to investigate how participation in Black Friday can impact the brand equity for fashion retailers, answering the research question of "What are the brand equity effects of participating vs. not participating in Black Friday, and how do these differ for companies with previous CSR engagements and companies without any previous CSR engagements?". Using a quantitative method, participants were displayed to four different scenarios testing the impact of participating or not participating in Black Friday combined with the moderator of previous CSR engagements. The findings from the study indicate that participation in Black Friday will not be beneficial for any company, regardless of if the brand has previous CSR engagements or not. Instead, participation leads to unfavorable brand equity effects on variables such as brand credibility, perceived quality, brand attitude, and purchase intention. The study also reveals that for companies with CSR engagements, it can be seen as extra positive in declining participation in the promotional event as it turns out to be a way of strengthening the brand image.